MOSCOW, October 22 (Itar-Tass) —— Russia and Iran called for invigorated international efforts to settle the Syrian crisis.
The Russian president’s special representative for the Middle East and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov and Iranian diplomats held consultations at the Iranian Foreign Ministry to exchange views on the international and regional agendas with a focus on the Middle East, North Africa and the Persian Gulf area.
They paid attention to developments in Syria and around it and expressed serious concern about the continuing violence in that country that leads to more casualties among civilians, increases the number of refugees and displaced persons, causes further degradation of the humanitarian situation and destroys Syria’s infrastructure and economy.
The diplomats reiterated proposals put forth by Joint Special Envoy of the United Nations and the League of Arab States for the Syrian Crisis, Lakhdar Brahimi, to announce a truce in connection with the upcoming Eid al-Adha, of the Festival of Sacrifice.
They noted “the need to step up consolidated international efforts in the interests of the speediest resolution of the Syrian crisis on the basis of respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of that country, in accordance with the consensus-based Geneva Communique of the Action Group and the principled approaches of the Non-Aligned Movement that call for putting an end to the bloodshed and starting a pan-Syrian political dialogue”, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday, October 22.
Bogdanov and Iranian Ambassador to Russia Seyed Mahmoud-Reza Sajjadi earlier “reaffirmed their commitment to peaceful ways to overcome the crisis in Syria on the basis of exclusive national dialogue and without outside interference”.
When discussing the “dramatic situation around Syria” in a telephone conversation earlier this year, Dmitry Medvedev, who was president at that time, and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called for “the speediest resolution of the crisis by the Syrian people solely by peaceful methods without external interference”.
The two leaders stressed the “need to stop violence, begin constructive political dialogue between the authorities and the opposition without preconditions”.
They “noted the importance of continuing political and socio-economic reforms in that country in a calm environment in the interests of all Syrians”.
Medvedev and Ahmadinejad agreed that “the main task now, including in the work of international organisations, primarily the United Nations, is to prevent a civil war in the country that can destabilise the in the whole region”.
They called for “mobilising the efforts of all those who are interested to stop the bloodshed and confrontation and restore peace and stability in Syria”.